Ive been seeing alot of led bars being marketed for undrr canopy lighting, they’re usually a oair, some on little stands which seem pretty stable but ss ive never utilised under canopy lighting, id love to hear from those that have. How much benefit did you gain? Id be very interested to see some real data on gains vs expense. For unit and electricity etc
Maybe not under canopy but definitely side lighting has been a huge gain for me. My inspiration was the phototron from back in the day. Tremendous improvement in the lowers. I believe there is also less stretch. Downside of course more money to run including dealing with extra heat. I have space constraints definitely worth it for me. Get your sunglasses on. Lol
Also for me I don’t do any training more than topping. I feel like the lights are doing some of that work for me. They are spider farmer glow80 plus the red. Next veg I’m trying two mounted sideways to see if it will pull branches outwards. Rotating the pots. Myself I can’t help but think of a plant was in the middle of a field it would get light from all directions.
I built my own inter-canopy lighting setup. Was dirt cheap, and works good: ICL (intercanopylighting) - #6 by resimax
Definitely, under canopy plays an important role, I have always wondered about it and lately various products have been released that do have a small number of watts, but have proven to be very efficient. According to my conditions, I will also test them. The side light is also very interesting, it reminds me a bit of some space buckets we used to make some time ago
Space buckets, there’s a blast from the past… ![]()
I remember seeing some wild looking setups…
Cheers
G
@broncogrow yes thats exactly what I was thinking about , would be more beneficial with side lighting instead of under canopy, and I can definitely see the benefits of it, i usually do a lot of stripping down low due to diverting energy to main fkower sites but like you’ve stated this would definitely help with mids. Si im thinking this might be worth a shot if u can find some efficient bars cost wise and output wise. Could be an interesting project, ill have to plan it out so it doesn’t interfere with netting etc but u like that setup you have done, thanks for the input ![]()
The biggest drawback for me was dealing with the extra heat. I would love to find something that ran cooler. I haven’t run this setup in summer yet but I think I’ll be ok. I’m in the basement I have been planning on adding AC to lung area anyway to stimulate the fall colors. As far as efficiency I got 1.5g per watt or 90 per square foot first run. Provided things don’t take a turn looks like I’m on target this run as well. The odd size of my closet limits my choices for top lighting and actually the side lighting doubles the watts. IMO given the same amount of watts all on top vs distributed I believe distributed would produce a better outcome. My setup seems to be constantly be evolving one thing I like about this hobby.
Had to look up space buckets. Wow that’s pretty wild. Would it be a stretch to say nature finds a way? Back in the day myself and friends grew in an old refrigerator and other odd things
ok we have undercanopy , side lighting , but how about inside branches ligthting , just take the led strips and wrap around and inside branches the plants xD
So day 39 JH. Maybe the hash will be better. I really see a meaningful improvement on lowers. I’m constricted by size and count so try and make lemonade. No not you Joe. Only drawback is heat and humidity I suppose. Phototron taught me that
Also think more overall exposure from the side
Looking awesome mate
what strain are you growing in the photos? Looks like the mids and lower down is benefited from the side lighting, ive looked at different led light bars, its hard to choose which would be best and most cost effective. I mean its just supplementary lighting but could definitely make a difference, and i can see the heat would euse it certainly wont be as bad as the old hps days! So ive gotten used to i combating heat , i like the way you’ve spread your overhead fans its a great set-up man!
It’s supposed to be Jack Herer from Seedsman. I say supposed because I’ve nothing to compare it too. Never seen it offered at a dispensary. I really enjoy it myself. Daytime go to. The only thing I would call larf is the lower were the plants touch. I don’t do a lot of defoliation mostly due to time but I feel the leaves make it grow. I see people grow only the top third of the plant the bottom all striped. Adding up watts there is as much on the side as on top it everything is on 100%. Once you add vertical side lights you can’t deny the benefits. Only if the benefit outweighs cost to run and heat. As far as red goes I’m learning I definitely see some good things so far just with the deep red. Definitely want plenty fans with all the leaves I think.
I can’t take credit the whole thing is inspired by the phototron really. Plus I think if a plant was out in a field by itself it would be getting light from all over. Thanks for reaching out
Wow thats excellent mate i really like that set-up and you’ve done a great job getting inspiration from the phototron but modernised it, and the strain looks good, ive never grown jack herer myself, im not into sativa dominant strains but looks like you’re getting the most out of it. Yeah i understand your points re under canopy defoliation, in your case due to your lighting situation i wouldn’t di much either, in my case i like really dank indica Afghani type strains that are susceptible to mould so i often need to do some defoliation, to increase airflow and also allow more kight oenetration. I understand the theories of stripping tge bottom third ti allow the plant to put all it’s energy into the top 2thirds of main fkower, and its pretty accurate but im curious regarding thise who scrog one olant where there are many fkower sites dur to toping and then just defoliation for airflow, alot of those branches are keft as what normally would be the bottom ir middle all become the top if that makes sense. There’s many ways to do it i guess and the oroof is in the putting. So keep up the great work and thanks for the inspiration on side lighting!!
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